BJP's Gautam Gambhir condemned the JNU violence in a tweet.
BJP MP and former cricketer Gautam Gambhir said in a late-night tweet that Sunday's mob attack targetting the students and teachers of Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University is "against ethos of country" as he urged for "strictest punishment" for those involved in the violence.
On Sunday evening, several masked goons, armed with sticks and stones, barged into the JNU and went on a rampage, injuring 34 students and teachers. Among those who were seriously injured were students' union president Aishe Ghosh and Professor Suchitra Sen.
In a late-night tweet, Mr Gambhir said that "students cannot be targeted this way". "Such violence on university campus is completely against the ethos of this country. No matter what the ideology or bent of mind, students cannot be targeted this way. Strictest punishment has to be meted out to these goons who have dared to enter the University #JNU. (sic), the 38-year-old BJP leader tweeted.
The Left students and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing linked to the BJP, have accused each other of involvement in the attack. Students and faculty members of JNU allege that police personnel and private security guards on the campus remained "mute spectators" as the masked attackers went on the rampage.
Delhi Police said today that it has clubbed several complaints it received after yesterday's violence and filed a single FIR (First Information Report). No arrests have been made yet but some of the masked assailants have been identified.
Hours after the mob attack, thousands of students across the country rose in spontaneous protest against what they claimed was a brutal crackdown on dissenting voices.
In Mumbai, "Occupy Gateway" protest has been called at the iconic Gateway of India where hundreds of students are holding a sit-in that began last night. Protests were also held last night in Kolkata, Hyderabad and Aligarh.